Anyone got over homesickness?
 

We moved out to Sydney in June 06 and love it out here - the weather, beaches, food etc. However, these last few months I have felt quite homesick. I find myself missing silly things like UK super markets and NEXT and not so silly things like the english countryside. I also really miss my sister and her little boy as we saw them very often when we lived in the UK. I find myself feeling quite stressed and tight in the chest and sometimes I just go to bed to feel better and forget about it all. The strange thing is that life here is very good and I do love Sydney and on the face of it, we would be better off staying here but emotionally I am struggling to leave the UK behind. I am expecting another baby in Jan and therefore I think that has been partly responsible for the way I am feeling - it is not going to be go easy to get back to the UK on a financial as well as a practical level.
We have sold our house in the UK which in some ways is not a problem since we would not have gone back to live in the same area anyway. However, it does mean that we need to get back onthe property ladder somewhere, whether it be in Sydney or the SE of England so I feel that we need to come to some sort of decision.
Anyway, sorry for the rambling - I just had to get it off my chest. Would love to hear from people in the same situation or those that have overcome the whole homesickness thing.

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

Not over in Oz yet but i have heard a lot of people who were homesick hankering for the UK but as soon as they went over for a holiday they realised that the grass isn't always greener so to speak. I know you said you can't really afford to go over at the moment, but if you just left oz and bought a house back in the UK you may end up with the same hankering in a couple of years time and lost a hell of a lot more money than the cost of a flight home to see how things go.

Being pregnant is an emotional time and i would just ride it through and concentrate on that first........but it is at times like that when we look for familiaraity and family and that's probably just what's bought it up. Hope you start to feel better soon and good luck with the pregnancy

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

I'm not sure that you 'overcome' the homesickness but that you just put it to the back of your mind and get on with it! We have been here a year now and loving every minute of it, if I think about home too much it still makes me sad but I love our life out here far more than the one I had in England! When I get fed up I have a good old think about what I would be doing in the middle of winter in england, not sunbathing by the pool like I have been doing! I have spoken to people who have been here 50 years and they still miss their families, that will not go away it just gets easier with time. Good luck and all the best.:thumbsup:

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

Not really :( 7 years now and first few years weren't too bad, but it's become worse with time. Even when I go back on holiday and conclude that life is better in Brisbane it's hard to reconcile that with the loss of your family relationships (bar email, webcam etc). You can find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place!

Understandably your homesickness will be amplified with you being pregnant. Lots of people do cope and find the homesickness manageable. For what it's worth I still think in many ways Aus is a better place to bring up the little ones. All the best for your pregnancy and hope you find things easier soon. :)

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

Hi there,

Sorry you feel homesick. As mentioned before having a baby on the way is a huge event, and every mum-to-be naturally wants to be in the place she feels most comfortable and safe. This is perfectly natural.

Is there a way you could get some family over to you for a while, or maybe go to the UK for a few weeks and stay with relatives?

I hope you overcome this and find comfort where you are now. However, no one of any importance to you would think any less of you if you did have to come back and re-join the property ladder. Your health is worth more than money.

You only live once and you have to do what's best for you and your family. There's no such thing as a perfect plan, and things happen in life which sometimes required a complete turnaround.

You need someone to talk to who you trust and can empathise with your position and current emotions. I hope you have someone and also hope you pull through this.

Things are seldom as bad as they seem - you'll do great in whatever you decide.

Take Care,

Zach

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

Thanks for the support. I am toying with the idea of going back on my own for a couple of weeks to get my head straight as it's going to be harder to travel once the baby arrives. I am hoping that this will help me decide where it is that I want to be. I agree that Sydney is a great place to bring up kids but it's not 'home' yet. If it wasn't a nice place then I guess the decision would be easy. Maybe going bck for a few weeks will help me come to ome sort of decision. Either way, I really don't fancy being homesick for years. We didn't leave the UK because we hated it, more because a job opportunity came up and we wanted to try living in a different culture. I love the SE of England and so would love to go back there. I guess if we were to go back after spending 2 1/2 years in Sydney, I would have at least got the living abroad thing out of my system.

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

Going back for a while could be a good thing, as you may get there and its not as good as you remember...and you may realise that Sydney is Home...Best of luck xx

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

Agree with Biggy, go back for a visit and see how you feel.
Good luck and congratulations on the baby;)

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

thats true, my friend who likes in sydney has been homesick since the day she arrived in aus (over 2 and a half yrs ago) and wanted to go back.. she has just arrived back from a 4 week holiday over there and it has cured her homesickness!! she realised what she has now compared to what she had then and realised that she could like without tesco, sainsburys etc
i think homesickness is one of these things that comes and goes, i still get little bouts of it and ive been here over 2 and a half years as well :)

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

We've not been here as long as the other posters but I actually managed to send an e-mail to my eldest daughter yesterday without bursting into tears. That is a first for me although I am not homesick as such I have been missing my 2 girls and their families terribly.
I do agree with the other posters about the pregnancy having something to do with the way you feel (congratulations by the way:D) and yes a trip back may help you with your decision.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.:thumbsup:

Loz x

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

Hi there,well ive been here just over 3yrs in Perth and i can say everyone goes through the homesickness but believe me things do get better and you will feel like were you are now is home and once you do its lovely so good luck chin up and congrats on baby:)

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

We were in a similar position to you LiverpoolGirl, and stayed in Sydney for 3 years from late 2003. We came back about 9 months after having our first child for many reasons. We also cam back to a part of the UK that we like but have no roots, family and few friends. We plan to return to Sydney mid-2008. As a place to bring up a child, the UK can be good if you live in a nice area and have family nearby. Otherwise, it may only be possible to see family occasionally as a visit, which is nice but no support. You life changes completely also, so getting around the country is much more diffiult than befoe, and generally just too stressful to bother. We loved our 9 months in Sydney with our Daughter, but couldn't commit to Australia at the time. We were not homesick in the end, we were just confused about where was the 'better' place to live, and we felt had to come back to what we knew in order to know what we wanted. What we found out was the the UK we experienced as a childless young couple was different to the UK we experience as parents. For me the problems as a parent are: 1) the weather - we are now indoors a lot more, and 2) the social climate - I now have zero tolerance for the aggressive, drunk, vulgar, impolite, and badly dressed sections of British society, otherwise known as chavs.

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

Hi all,
I'm new to this forum and only mt 2nd post! I too am quite homesick it has to be said. I am married to an Australian girl and moved over from sunny Worcester to live over here in Sydney. I am actually going back to England in 2 weeks for the first time since I came over (jan 06) and can't wait.
I myself find myself finding it very hard to let go of England. I am also from a huge close family (3 sis and 2 bro's) and very close to my mum and miss them all terribly. I am constantly listerning to British radio on the internet (hate Oz radio), going online to BBC sport and Worcester Eve news websites! I do love australia for the weather and beaches, etc however I find australians not so 'forward' as brits and some can be quite ignorant (SOME). I hate the 4 wheel drive culture where everyone seems to have one and cannot stand the tv. I know I am really sounding like a whinging pom but that's the way I see it. Maybe when I go back my feelings will change but my family will still be in the UK.....my wife isn't too keen on the idea of going to UK, however we have lived in the UK for a year together already.....
Well........just letting you know you're not alone!!
Regards,
Simon

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

I have been here for 4 years now but haven't been home in 3. I have a beautiful house and my son is settled in Primary school here in Brisbane, but that can't compensate for not being able to regularly see my parents, sisters & their families. My ideal would be to afford to go home (to UK) every year for a month. Trouble is, it costs too much for all 4 of us and getting time off work is an issue too. What I have found suprising about Brisbane is how hard it is to find work. Has anyone else found that?

Re: Anyone got over homesickness?
 

I havent got over the homesickness just learnt to deal with it better im going back to the uk at xmas for a month so i will see how i feel then all my friends/family say that its a shithole and i better off here but i would like to make up my own mind .:unsure: